Between the location, menu, staff and suppliers, there’s a lot to think about and plan when opening a new restaurant. One of the most critical factors is your restaurant design and buying your hospitality furniture to make it shine. Getting the design right is the key to getting diners flooding back for more.
But there’s more to consider than just how your restaurant design fits your theme. It’s one thing for your space to look good, it’s another for it to feel great and be a practical place to serve guests. Having helped countless venues plan their space and select the perfect hospitality furniture, we’ve put together our top tips to nail your restaurant design.
1. Spatial Awareness
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re sitting on top of the table next to you or bumping elbows with your guests. Maximising your space comes down to choosing the right sized furniture and a layout that makes the most of your unique floor space.
On the flip side, having your furniture too spread out can feel cold and clinical. Finding the perfect balance is about ensuring you can comfortably walk between tables, pull out chairs without disrupting other guests and achieve some level of privacy at tables.
2. Have Different Seating Options
Some people love grabbing a booth, and others prefer to sit at the bar, in the window or at a table in the centre of everything. Having a variety of seating areas gives your guests the option to request the spot that will enhance their dining experience. That variety will be a big drawcard for your business and help you to widen your market.
3. Make Your Restaurant Instagram-able
If you’re trying to tap into the millennial market, you need to pay close attention to your venue’s decor. Whether it can be shared on social media will be a significant deciding factor for these potential diners. When planning your design, think about how it photographs and whether it’s unique when compared to other local venues. You don’t have to deck out your entire venue in a crazy theme to achieve Instagram-worthy status. Small and simple details will still have a big impact.
4. Think About Flexibility
A restaurant that can adapt to varying party sizes is usually successful. Ideally, you’ll be able to move your tables and chairs to new layouts to accommodate both large and small parties. This is essential if you want to hire out your venue for events as organisers will want the flexibility to customise the seating layout to suit their guest list.
5. Invest in Good Lighting Design
God lighting will set the ambience and mood of your venue, and it’s also crucial for safety and practicality reasons. Light that’s too dim or too bright can ruin a diner’s experience. And the colour of your lighting matters as well. If you’re lucky enough to have natural light, make sure you have window coverings to prevent sunlight beaming straight onto a guest on a hot summer’s day.
6. Consider Every Stage of a Guest’s Journey in Your Restaurant
It’s an excellent idea to walk through your venue like a customer. Everything from the waiting area to the dining floor to the walk to the bathrooms should reflect your restaurant’s design brief and the way a customer will use the space. For example, waiting areas should have comfortable seating and hallways to the bathrooms can act as gallery spaces to avoid boring and stark walls.
Need more advice on perfecting your restaurant design? Get in touch with our expert team at Have A Seat who can use their decades of restaurant design experience to offer you tips, tricks and inspiration. Call 1300 784 654.
Thanks for reading,
Have a Seat
1300 715 937